Autarchism is a political philosophy that promotes the principles of individualism, the moral ideology of individual liberty and self-reliance. It rejects compulsory government and supports the elimination of government in favor of ruling oneself to the exclusion of rule by others.
Overview
Robert LeFevre (1911–1986), a "self-proclaimed autarchist"[1] recognized as such by Murray Rothbard,[2] distinguished autarchism from anarchy, whose economics he felt entailed interventions contrary to freedom.[3] In professing "a sparkling and shining individualism" while "it advocates some kind of procedure to interfere with the processes of a free market", anarchy seemed to LeFevre to be self-contradictory.[3] He situated the fundamental premise of autarchy within the Stoicism of philosophers such as Zeno, Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius, which he summarized in the credo "Control yourself".[4]
Fusing these influences, LeFevre arrived at the autarchist philosophy: "The Stoics provide the moral framework; the Epicureans, the motivation; the praxeologists, the methodology. I propose to call this package of ideological systems autarchy, because autarchy means self-rule".[4] LeFevre stated that "the bridge between Spooner and modern-day autarchists was constructed primarily by persons such as H. L. Mencken, Albert Jay Nock, and Mark Twain".[3]
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) biographer Robert D. Richardson described Emerson's anarchy as "'autarchy', rule by self".[5][6] Philip Jenkins has stated that "Emersonian ideas stressed individual liberation, autarchy, self-sufficiency and self-government, and strenuously opposed social conformity".[7]
See also
- Anarcho-capitalism
- Autarky
- Egoist anarchism
- Existentialist anarchism
- Individualist anarchism
- Rugged individualism
- Self-governance
- Self-ownership
- Voluntaryism
References
- ^ Grubbs Jr., K. E. (June 1989). "Book Review: Robert LeFevre: Truth Is Not a Half-way Place by Carl Watner". The Freeman. Foundation for Economic Education. 39 (6).
- ^ Rothbard, Murray N. (2007). The Betrayal of the American Right, Ludwig von Mises Institute, p. 187. ISBN 978-1-933550-13-8
- ^ a b c "Autarchy vs Anarchy" by Robert LeFevre. Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought Vol. 1, No. 4 (Winter, 1965): 30–49
- ^ a b "Autarchy" by Robert LeFevre. Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought Vol. 2, No. 2 (Summer 1966): 1–18
- ^ Ralph Waldo Emerson (2009). The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Random House Publishing Group. p. 849. ISBN 978-0-307-41991-0.
- ^ Richardson, Jr., Robert D (1997). Emerson: The Mind on Fire. University of California Press. p. 535. ISBN 0-520-20689-4.
- ^ Jenkins, Philip (1995). A History of the United States. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 108. ISBN 0-312-16361-4.
External links
- "Politics" by Ralph Waldo Emerson – In it, he advocates the practice of self-government as the most rightful way to organize individuals in society (1844).
- The Nature of Man and His Government by Robert LeFevre – an introduction by Rose Wilder Lane (1959).
- "On the Other Hand" by Robert LeFevre. Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought Vol. 2, No. 2 (Summer, 1966): 83–88
- "Self-Government" by Donald J. Boudreaux. The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. September 2000 Vol. 50, No. 9
- The Center For Self Rule – Educational organization advocating Autarchism